2019
USS STICKLEBACK
The USS Stickleback was commissioned March 29, 1945 and began her first war patrol on the Sea of Japan. Two days after arriving on patrol the cease-fire order was passed and was decommissioned and placed on reserve. In 1954, she was recommissioned to support the United Nations in Korea. From 1954 to 1957, she was commissioned to gather Soviet Union intelligence.
In 1958, during an antisubmarine warfare exercise, the USS Stickleback collided with the destroyer escort USS Silverstein (DE 534). While there were no fatalities, unfortunately the submarine was not able to be saved.
USS Stickleback
Collision with USS Silverstein
2019 STEP Expedition
The 2019 STEP funded expedition located the USS Stickleback by deploying a series of underwater vehicles equipped with sonar equipment near the site of the collision.
The USS Stickleback is the third submarine to be discovered of the four U.S. Navy submarines lost since the end of World War II.
For more information on the USS Stickleback visit The Maritime Executive, FOX News, Smithsonian Magazine, and Lost 52 Project.
USS GRAYBACK
The USS Grayback was commissioned on June 30, 1941, and in two years, it went on 10 successful war patrols, during which it sank a total of 63,835 tons and 14 ships.
In 1944, during her 10th warpatrol, the USS Grayback was damaged by enemy aircraft and was never heard from again. Onboard were 80 soilders, none made it back home.
"That same day [Feb. 27], a Japanese carrier-based plane spotted a submarine on the surface in the East China Sea and attacked. According to Japanese reports, the submarine exploded and sank immediately, but antisubmarine craft were called in to depth-charge the area, clearly marked by a trail of air bubbles, until at last a heavy oil slick swelled to the surface." -the Naval History and Heritage Command documenting the USS Grayback's demise
USS GRAYBACK, Naval History and Heritage Command
2019 STEP Expedition:
The 2019 STEP funded expedition located the USS Grayback off the coast of Okinawa, Japan. By deploying a series of underwater vehicles equipped with sonar equipment the submarine was found nearly 100 miles from the area where it was originally thought to have gone down.
For more information on the USS Stickleback visit CNN, US Department of Defense, TIME, and Lost52 Project.